Adapting and the Brain

Ignoring who you authentically are can literally be killing you. Forcing yourself to be someone you are not, or stuffing down who you really are, is incredibly taxing and will shorten your life by years and years. (McGraw, Phillip C., PhD. Self Matters. p 17, 88, 127. NY: Simon & Schuster Source, 2001.)

Unaware parents may try to force a child into behaving in a way that is opposite to his/her innate nature—if they don’t understand that there can be innate temperament differences, or if they value one temperament over another. This can result in neurosis. (Dossey, Larry. MD. Healing Words. p 125-130. NY: HarperPaperbacks, 1993.)

Burnout represents a state of emotional and physical exhaustion typically triggered excessive and prolonged stress. It can produce a sense of hopelessness and helplessness in which emotions are blunted and there is a loss of motivation and ideals. Over time it can lead to profound depression and/or a sense that life is not worth living. It can also contribute to serious physical illness. (Preventing Burnout: Signs, Symptoms, and Strategies to Avoid It. Provided by HelpGuide.org, https://www.helpguide.org/)

Burnout is a term for a condition characterized by long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Maslach and Jackson identified this condition in the 1970s. The Maslach Burnout Inventory weighs the effects of emotional exhaustion (hallmark symptom), depersonalization, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment). It has become the standard tool for measuring burnout in research on the syndrome. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupational_burnoutnout)

Competency and preference are not the same. Everyone can and generally does develop competencies in every cerebral mode. Some of the competencies may be at a very high level (e.g., mastery). It is possible for a person to develop this type of mastery in more than one of the four specialized cerebral regsions. But each person only has one preference (e.g., one specialized region with natural efficiency that allows it to use 1/100th the energy that is required by the other three modes). Competency alone may improve efficiency by 1-2 percent. While the person’s one and only preference improves efficiency by 100 percent. Thinking with “preference” uses so little energery the person feels it is easy and effortless. This was shown originally more than a decade ago by Dr. Richard Haier and subsequently by other independent researchers including Dr. Karl Pribram. (Benziger, Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind: The Art and Science of Using Your Whole Brain. p 250-263. IL: KBA, 2009.)

The power of context is often overpowering, even if we would like to believe that life’s decisions are a matter of personal character. People adjust their behavior to fit specific contexts, making them more context-sensitive than consistent. . (Quartz, Steven R., PhD, and Terrence J. Sejnowski, PhD. Liars, Lovers, and Heroes. p 126. NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2002.)

Individuals who Falsify Type spend hours each day in activities that require their brains to work up to 100 times harder. This throws their body systems into distress. As Jung said in Psychological Types, the only thing that can make a difference is the individual’s reowning of his/her preference. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind. TX: KBA Publishing, 2000, p 236.”)

Spending majority of time and energy in a job/profession that don’t match your passion and skill sets wastes time/energy. The most successful individuals spend time/energy on their strengths rather than their weaknesses. (Gordon, Jon, M.A. Become an Energy Addict. GA: Longstreet Press, 2003, p 57)

Suppressing who you were meant to be is like trying to hold a beach ball under the water with one hand while trying to push a boulder uphill with the other. This drains life energy that you could otherwise spend on what you are really all about. (McGraw, Phillip C., PhD. Self Matters, Creating Your Life From the Inside Out. NY: Simon & Schuster Source, 2001, pp 32-33)

Discouraging an individual from attempting a task when that person is perfectly capable of accomplishing the desired result is suppressive and manipulative. Equally significant, but almost always overlooked, is expecting an individual to do something that is not within his/her natural capacity. (Tanenbaum, Joe. Male &Female Realities, Understanding the Opposite Sex. p 23. NV: Robert Erdmann Publishing, 1990.)

Every day, the majority of people face external pressures to survive, belong, and fit in, or their own inner need to be respected or rewarded. Many choose to Falsify Type: to do something that runs counter to innate preference. The outcome is fatigue, irritability, and anxiety. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind – The art and science of using your whole brain. p 16, 20. TX: KBA Publishing, 2000.)

Unaware parents may try to force a child into behaving in a way that is opposite to his/her innate nature—if they don’t understand that there can be innate temperament differences, or if they value one temperament over another. This can result in neurosis. (Dossey, Larry. MD. Healing Words. p 125-130. NY: HarperPaperbacks, 1993.)

Falsifying Type, a Jung term, describes individuals who find themselves using non-preferred skills over extended periods of time in order to fit in and find rewards. The short-term costs of "falsifying type" are increased irritability, headaches, and difficulty in mastering new tasks. The long-term results are exhaustion, depression, lack of joy, homeostatic imbalance, increased anxiety and introversion, premature aging of the brain, and a fulnerability to illness. (Benziger, Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind: The Art and Science of Using Your Whole Brain. p 266-272. IL:KBA, 2009.)

Fear of change, even positive change, is a powerful restraint. The thought of deviating from the narrow path of fixed beliefs and the life script that contains them can be unbearable for some people. (McGraw, Phillip C., PhD. Self Matters, Creating Your Life From the Inside Out. NY: Simon & Schuster Source, 2001, p 238)

All over the world on all continents and in all cultures, brain differences exist between female brains and male brains. (Gurian, Michael, PhD, with Barbara Annis. Leadership and the Sexes. p xx. CA: Jossey-Bass, 2008.)

If you have specific gifts that actually appear threatening to the opposite sex, you may have stopped displaying or utilizing these gifts, or you may have forgotten that you ever had them. (Tanenbaum, Joe. Male & Female Realities, Understanding the Opposite Sex. NV: Robert Erdmann Publishing, 1990 p 9)

Many women try to change themselves to please their husbands. It is usually a mistake. (Brothers, Joyce, PhD. What Every Woman Should Know About Men. NY: Ballantine Books, 1981, p 251)

Genes have been found to account for only about 50% of a specific personality trait. For some traits, genetic influence is far less. In addition, people are not always true to their so-called personality traits (e.g., behavioral and mental states may be determined by the situation). (LeDoux, Joseph. Synaptic Self, How Our Brains Become Who We Are. NY: Penguin Books, 2002, pp 29-30)

Most homosexual orientation develops during gestation. Patterns tend to be firmly in place by age 5. Discusses lack of success of change therapies (e.g., push bisexuals to confine behaviors to opposite sex only, or enforce celibacy, or push the individuals to attempt suicide). (Pease, Barbara and Allan. Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps. p 171-186. NY: Broadway Books, 1998.)

The trauma of growing up gay in a world that is run primarily by straight men is deeply wounding in a unique and profound way. Straight men have other issues and struggles that are no less wounding, but they are quite different from those of a gay man. ( Downs, Alan, PhD. The Velvet Rage. Overcoming the Pain of Growing up Gay in a Straight Man’s World. p 5-6. NY: Da Capo Press, 2005. 2006.)

Noradrenaline levels of children (after release from Waco) were abnormally high, a chemical signature of post traumatic stress disorder. (This is another way of describing hypervigilance, a push toward introversion due to extreme stress.) With noradrenaline keeping the body in a constant state of readiness, these children are quick to erupt and will be hypervigilant (other characteristics are also listed). (Karr-Morse, Robin, and Meredith S. Wiley. Ghosts from the Nursery, Tracing the Roots of Violence. NY: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997, pp 163-165)

It is not always easy to change careers and to adjust one’s life so as to live more in alignment with one’s natural dominance. And yet, most who have done so are clearly happier and healthier. Life is too short to spend it chronically stressed, in feeling dumb, anxious, irritable, exhausted, and depressed. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind - The art and science of using your whole brain. TX: KBA Publishing 2000, p 129)

The human brain adapts. Over time it can adapt to worsening or improving situations and be realtively unaware of the gradual change. Greek philosopher Epicurus wrote: Do not spol what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. (Macknik, Stephen L. PhD and Susana Martinez-Conde PhD. Sleights of Mind. p 94-95. NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2010.)

Studies: Cell phone conversation disrupts attention. It even disrupts walking. It leads to inattentional blindness. Your brain is designed to respond to one thing at a time. Multitasking (doing several things at once efficiently and well) is a myth.(Macknik, Stephen L. PhD and Susana Martinez-Conde PhD. Sleights of Mind. p 85-95. NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2010.)

Studies: Less than half of all employed Americans who responded to the poll, said they were in the career/job path they had planned. Turn to drugs and alcohol on the job in an attempt to dull the effects of job stress. (Hafen, Brent Q., et al. Mind/Body Health – the effects of attitudes, emotions and relationships. MA: Simon & Schuster, 1996, pp 81, 90-92)

There are innate differences in the human personality, including four functions: Feeling (evaluating), Thinking, Sensation, and Intuition. Each person is born with one of the four functions dominant. (Dossey, Larry. MD. Healing Words. NY: HarperPaperbacks, 1993, pp 125-130)

If you add up the number of years that might be lost because of stress and living in the fictional self, it would be thirty-two years. (McGraw, Phillip C., PhD. Self Matters, Creating Your Life From the Inside Out. NY: Simon & Schuster Source, 2001, p 34)

The Maslach Burnout Inventory weighs the effects of emotional exhaustion, (hallmark symptom), depersonalization, and reduced sense of personal accomplishment). It has become the standard tool for measuring burnout in research on the syndrome. (Maslach Burnout Inventory: The Inventory Site. http://www.theinventorysite.net/s/maslach_burnout_inventory)

When someone persists in Falsifying Type for decades, using inefficient, nonpreferred types of thinking almost exclusively, he/she is at risk for experiencing a mid-life crisis. This breakdown is created over time by the unavoidable physiological stress of excessive adapting. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind - The art and science of using your whole brain. TX: KBA Publishing, 2000, pp 220-223)

Describes outcomes from a mismatch between brain function and career choice, including depression and illness. Individuals would be on the road to recovery if only they could see clearly the mismatch of their occupations with their minds. (Mel Levine, Mel, MD. A Mind at a Time. NY: Simon & Schuster, 2002, pp 48-49)

Packaging is a technique that allows a person to use his/her natural preference while doing a job that requires use of a nonpreferred type of thinking. It helps with energy management. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind – The art and science of using your whole brain. p 313. TX: KBA Publishing, 2000.)

Much of the energy influencing a decision to put off doing certain tasks comes from an internal desire to do the things that uplift and energize the individual. It is a way of temporarily conserving energy. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind – The art and science of using your whole brain. TX: KBA Publishing, 2000, p 133)

Although not easy, most who have gone to the trouble to shape a life and career that allows them to use natural preferences in a context that honors introversion or extraversion needs, are clearly happier and healthier. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind – The art and science of using your whole brain. TX: KBA Publishing, 2000, p 129)

Describes benefits of resolving over-adapting. Your authentic self has always been there; just been buried so deeply you didn’t know how to access it. Your personal self-concept needs to be cleaned up and rid of all the junk and misinformation that has been internalized for years. (McGraw, Phillip C., PhD. Self Matters, Creating Your Life From the Inside Out. NY: Simon & Schuster Source, 2001, pp 42, 96)

Sandwiching is an important tool for managing one’s energy throughout the day. It can increase and uplift one’s energy levels. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind – The art and science of using your whole brain. TX: KBA Publishing, 2000, p 312)

Self-actualization is the joyous expression of the developed self and its gifts, including its natural preference and level of introversion or extraversion. Self-actualization is not possible in the presence of Falsification of Type. (Benziger, I. Katherine, PhD. Thriving in Mind – The art and science of using your whole brain.TX: KBA Publishing, 2000, p 223)

The self that now runs your life It is the result of key events that you have experienced in your life (external factors) and a process of reaction and interpretation that happens internally (internal factors). (McGraw, Phillip C., PhD. Self Matters, Creating Your Life From the Inside Out. NY: Simon & Schuster Source, 2001, p 43)

There could be no greater stress than that generated by denying your authentic self. It diverts life energy and compromises you mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Denying who you really are can kill you. If you add up the number of years that might be lost because of stress and living in the fictional self, it would be 32 years. (McGraw, Phillip C., PhD. Self Matters, Creating Your Life From the Inside Out. p 32-36. NY:Simon & Schuster Source, 2001.)

Unaware parents may try to force a child into behaving in a way that is opposite to his/her innate nature—if they don’t understand that there can be innate temperament differences, or if they value one temperament over another. This can result in neurosis. (Dossey, Larry. MD. Healing Words. NY: HarperPaperbacks, 1993, pp 125-130)

Each person as a temperament that has been present since at least birth. It can be distorted by factors such as addictions, work that isn’t a good match, poor diet, or inadequate rest. There is a peace that comes with living your true nature. (Chart p. 206-208) (Rolfe, Randy, JD, MA. The Four Temperaments. NY: Marlowe & Company, 2002, pp 36-40)

You will begin to realize that you are the most knowledgeable person about you and what is best for you. Individuals who discover what is healthy for them tend to become less tolerant of others’ opinions of what they should be doing. (Tanenbaum, Joe. Male & Female Realities, Understanding the Opposite Sex. NV: Robert Erdmann Publishing, 1990, p 9)

A person's strong preferences often represent work activities that "turn them on." Their non-preferences almost always represent work activities that "turn them off." When people are turned off they drop out of the game. They become selectively blind and deaf to the discussions and activities that take place in their areas of avoidance. When a large percentage of a person's work falls into a quadrant of avoidance, the likelihood of job success is enormously reduced. (Herrmann, Ned. The Whole Brain Business Book. p 40-46. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1996.)